I believe that many of the gods weapons are made by dwarves- Freys foldable ship, Odin's spear,Gungnir, and Mjolnir.Please correct me if I am incorrect or I have misspelt anything.Do you think weapons of magical nature be given to the warriors of Valhalla who will be fighting in Ragnarok? Initially I thought that the gods would have had plenty of time to construct these weapons, or have them constructed, but "an instant in the realm of gods is an epoch in the world of men", is said in "The Odin Brotherhood" PDF I downloaded from the library.I would like the thank the people who run the website for setting up a free library section, it has vastly expanded my knowledge.Do you run the website or are you just a key figure on the forums. You spend a lot of time answering peoples questions and posting on their topics, you must put a lot of work in.For this I thank you and want to tell you that you are doing a tremendous job.

Imagine a "caveman" being frozen and brought back to life in our society. What words would he use to describe modern technology? Would he describe a computer as a "wiseman in a box"? Would he describe our guns as "swords that shoot flames"? Would he describe our airplanes as "men who have wings as birds"?

Perhaps the gods showed our ancient forebears their technologies and they described them as best they could in the paradigm. Now imagine Ragnarok being a battle fought in the future using lasers, or those "beam me up Scotty" hand held things they had in Star Trek. How would an old 10th century viking describe that sort of technology?

Perhaps as a ship that folds up and fits in a pocket?

I am of a mind that the technology described in the Eddas and the Rig Veda and elsewhere are otherworldly. Just food for thought.

Great thoughts SolDia. I tend to agree. I think the ancestors described things as best they could with the references they had available to them.

It is also possible, if the story of Ragnarok were told to them by the Elder Kin, that they may have used references that the ancestors could understand, such as *sword* and *dragon*.

I have always thought about an inflatable raft when I hear of Frey's ship. To ancestors accustomed to large and solidly-built ships, an inflatable raft would seem like it *folded up small enough to fit in a pocket.* Even though they rarely fold up as small after the first time.....lol.......

I have read a lot about "ancient aliens" (before it was a tv show). I always wondered about dragons being an analogy for spaceships or airplanes that fired weapons. Most old-world societies had dragons in their lore from East to West. Yet no evidence of their existence has been found.

Another interesting thing to to think about is what Midgard would look like post-Ragnarok. With all the gods dead. Would it look like our world does today?

I have been told that creatures like Sasquatch are adept at walking between the worlds, which is why we do not find their remains here in Midgard. I think dragons might be the same way...but there is so much lore about dragons, thunderbirds, and other winged creatures....

I am a bit disappointed with the Ancient Aliens TV show. Like you, I studied all these things long before....and the show, while good at introducing these things to people who have never heard about them, is too sensational for me. And Giorgio needs to get out of thinking he is a rock star and just give the evidence.

As far as what Midgard would look like....I get the impression that all the dimensional worlds based on this one are somewhat alike, and their residents are very similar in makeup....humaniod in form although with many differences. The plants and landscapes seem to be similar as well. So I think a Midgard post-Ragnarok would be fairly close to this one...maybe like what it was like thousands of years ago.

Reading tip: Ragnarok, the End of the Gods by A.S. Byatt. This is a very recent translation (2011) and interesting. I read it for an essay I was writing on Yggdrasil.

A.S. Byatt is a professor of literature and languages and has a deep fascination with Norse and Celtic lore. If you are into fiction read her novel "Possession" and count up the literary allusions to Ragnarok and the northern gods.

When I read her books, I wondered if she was a member of the Odin Brotherhood...... ;)

Imagine a "caveman" being frozen and brought back to life in our society. What words would he use to describe modern technology? Would he describe a computer as a "wiseman in a box"? Would he describe our guns as "swords that shoot flames"? Would he describe our airplanes as "men who have wings as birds"?

Perhaps the gods showed our ancient forebears their technologies and they described them as best they could in the paradigm. Now imagine Ragnarok being a battle fought in the future using lasers, or those "beam me up Scotty" hand held things they had in Star Trek. How would an old 10th century viking describe that sort of technology?

Perhaps as a ship that folds up and fits in a pocket?

I am of a mind that the technology described in the Eddas and the Rig Veda and elsewhere are otherworldly. Just food for thought.

It's also possible that, if you or I were to see the battle, that we also would be unable to accurately describe it, because they are weapons beyond our imagination as well.

I believe this next cycle of Ragnarok will be "modernised", but with all things human, it will devolve to sticks and stones at the end... everyone will eventually run out of bullets!...

I'm not an Odinist, at one point I was an Asatru adherent, but no longer. I describe myself simply as a Norse Pagan. Although, if I were to apply another term, it would be Ragnarokist...

I believe Ragnarok is cyclical, it's been before and will be again. In truth, I think we're in it now if you don't view the lore in a literalist way... at the very least we are on the Eve of Ragnarok.

Yet, I do wonder how many aspects of the "myth"ology will manifest and what form they may take. For instance, the Sun and Moon going dark (being swallowed), Fimbulvintr (the Great Winter that lasts 3 winters with no Summers in between), Jormangandr rising from the depths (tsunamis, earthquakes and the like), the Fires of Surt (Nuclear Apocalypse)etc...

But honestly it's takes a lot of training to use a sword properly, if skilled enough, could kill a man honestly really fast.

But this is coming from some one who isn't to fond of guns.

Though you have to look at the gods weapons not as a mear hammer or spear, but are extremely advanced thors hammer always comes back to him when thrown, Odins spear never misses, and I'm pretty sure bullets won't harm them cause of the advancement in armor, not saying its not possiple just think the gods see what we know and find ways around it.

It's true that armor technology is starting to out pace gun technology. Maybe guns will have become more or less useless due to the difficulty of landing a shot in the right part of the armor to get through it?

So then a medieval weapon becomes necessary to knock your opponent down so you can shoot them (or use a skill saw) at point blank range?

Or.... maybe a new kind of melee weapon will be invented that is more powerful than a gun for cutting through armor?

It's true that armor technology is starting to out pace gun technology. Maybe guns will have become more or less useless due to the difficulty of landing a shot in the right part of the armor to get through it?

So then a medieval weapon becomes necessary to knock your opponent down so you can shoot them (or use a skill saw) at point blank range?

Or.... maybe a new kind of melee weapon will be invented that is more powerful than a gun for cutting through armor?

Vibroblades and Lightsabers? I can't wait... ;)

As for better armor offering better protection against bullets, if you're ever in that critical situation look at your opponent as a zombie... and shoot them in the head... you can't armor a helmet enough because of weight not to mention faceplates will always be the weak point... headshots are your friend... just sayin'...

Our ancestors buried or burned the dead with their possessions (including weapons) so they would have these items in the afterlife. If they were right you'll have whatever you take with you. Hopefully Odin will provide plenty of ammunition, prehaps your magazines will become like Saehrimnir and be replenished before every battle.

I've also heard (but haven't researched yet) that you could only gain acceptance to Valhalla if you died with a weapon in your hand. So whatever weapon you're carrying at the time of your combat death is what you would weild at Ragnarak. I would think that the vast majority of the battle fallen who sought Valhalla fought with bladed weapons. As battlefield technology has progressed, has the ranks of the Einharjar swollen to include "modern" warriors? To me this would raise the question as to whether the Valkyrie only select those who follow Odin or if they are free to pick and choose the worthy as they see fit. There are plenty of brave warriors throughout history who have fallen in battle that were carrying firearms but weren't Odinists.

I voted 'Firearms.'However if there is a massive collapse of western civilization first then a Ragnarok afterwards it will be a mix of the two.

I actually believe that Ragnaroks occur at certain periods of time and take certain 'forms'The Christianization of Europe was a form of Ragnarok for example.The collapse of the elder empire (many thousands of years ago) was another for of Ragnarok etc